Student new to automation, controls, and programming

[Jemeu]

Right now I'm in a program for industrial instrumentation and controls. I'm not new to working in the industrial field, but I would really like to know how I can get ahead on the controls and programming side of things, or maybe stuff about fluid control? I'm not sure i'm new haha

I just got done with PLCfiddle, hoping to find something similar. I have visual studio for what that's worth. What other ways are there to learn online? Some say codesys? I'm not sure what to learn right now ,I'm really interested but any advice would be appreciated!

thanks ahead of time!

 

[James Mcquade]

Welcome to the forum.

for the controls, look at a simple machine with plc controls.
study it and take notes. then go to your boss and ask for the electrical prints and plc program so you can learn. then look at the program and see if you can see how the program works.

just remember that each person has their own style of programming.
AND maintenance is the people who work on the equipment you program, so work with them and keep things so they can understand the program and how it works.

for pneumatics and hydraulics, google pneumatics, then hydraulics.


regards,
james

 

[Jemeu]

I'm a full time student right now

 

[Ken Moore]

In the USA, Rockwell appears to have the largest market share, but many companies are migrating to Siemens. Third on my list is Codesys. So learning one or more of these systems would be advantageous.

In my area of the country,I am seeing more and more demands for Siemens TIA portal experience. I would start there, then Rockwell, then CodeSys.

All the above is just my opinion, not based on any survey's or statistics.

 

[Hietsu]

CoDeSys is a nice tool to start learning PLC programming, since the software is free.
In the beginning, I think it is better to learn to program and understand functionality of one platform well, rather than trying to learn just a scratch from
multiple. Logical way of thinking and good programming practices are universal and take time to master, learning quirks of different platforms to be able to use them at work takes much less.

Of course for future employment it is beneficial, if you can learn the platform most common in your area/industry, but the price range of Siemens' and Rockwell's software licenses are way out of average student's budget.
Is it possible at your university/college/whatever you are attending to request access to the computers and labs out of office hours? (easily the coolest thing the university I'm currently attending has to offer)

Fluid controls are a little more difficult to get hands on experience, but if you can get access to Matlab license and simulink, you can use it to model different systems. In my bachelor's studies we used it to model some simpler stuff, like level control and a PI controller to handle that.

 

[widelto]

@jemeu:
Send me PM with your email I have a lot of material about hydraulic controls.

 

[Rockfordmfg]

There was a very good discussion years ago on another blog about "Learning to Program Great" Mainly based on Rockwell/Allen-Bradley, but the concepts can apply to any brand of PLC. http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?/topic/15680-learing-to-program-great/

Allen-Bradley has a FREE starter package for the RS Logix-500 and a FREE emulator for RS Logix 500. I have used the emulator many times to test logic without any hardware and it works great. Just search it on this forum and I think you can find a link to both.

Automation Direct has a FREE programming software and the CLICK series is very affordable for anyone to set up a test bench and play. You can buy a CLICK processor with I/O for $69 We have used several of them, as a programmable relays and recently as a multi-timer control on a relay controlled machine that needed multiple timers.

IMHO, fluid power is good to learn and understand, but Motor Control would be another big area to concentrate on. Learn about AC inverter drives and stepper/servo controls. Usually there is some type of motor on about every type of machine.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, most people are happy to impart knowledge, especially to someone who is eager and willing to learn!

 

[James Mcquade]

Jemeu,
since you are a full time student, let's try this.
this may sound silly, but you will get to do some of the basics for plc programming.
your customer has just given you a set of specifications.
#1 read them multiple times and have a good understanding of what they are.
for this part, you know the specifications by heart, no joke, you really do.
#2 from the specifications he has given you, he wants a robot to go from your
home to your school and then back home.
#3 write out your instructions from home to the school, don't worry about the
trip back.
3.1 now then, look at your notes and ask questions. are you in the car? have you checked the tires, oil, …,? is the motor started? is there frost or ice on the windshield? when you turn right or left, is the coast clear? when you stop at a stop sign, is the coast clear?
when you stop at a stop light, is the light green and is the coast clear?

this exercise may sound silly, BUT you are learning how to program.
these questions represent conditions in the plc program, permission to go to the next step in the program or not and also sensors which tell the plc the part is in place.

when you are happy with this, write instruction for the trip back.
Yes, this sound silly.
you will say it's to easy.
when you start asking those questions, you will discover there is a lot more to do.

if you can ask the question "what if this happens' plan for it !!
that 1 in a million chance of happening will happen right in front of the customer at the worst possible time.

james

 

[mikeexplorer]

I took a rather unusual approach to learn PLC programming. I did start with one of those training kits that gives you a small PLC and buttons & switches. I did learn from it but I wanted a more real world example. At the time the place I was working at was moving its production out of the country and they were scrapping machines. I was lucky that I could take parts from the machines home with me so it allowed me to build a set of controls for a model railroad layout. I am using a Micrologix 1000 for the PLC and the software is free. I also purchased an inexpensive HMI panel from Automationdirect to use.



I posted my progress here.


https://www.nepaview.com/model-train-plc-project.html




It is still a work in progress, but I was able to design my first PLC project for work using a Click PLC. The device works well and the company wants to roll the project out to the other lines.



Mike

 

[alive15]

There is a guy on this forum named Ron Beaufort, he sells a training manual on understanding allen bradley plc programming (software is rs logix 5000 or studio 5000). The manual is really good at explaining how the software works, the different instructions used, etc. I would recommend contacting him and see about buying yourself a copy.

Also, Rockwell has a free instruction book pdf online, I would recommend downloading and reading through the basic instructions used in plc programming; they have a few examples in there to help you understand the instructions also.

But the best way for you as a student to learn, is to find an engineer or company with plcs, and shadow / intern / co-op, so this way, you can follow the engineer around, ask questions. You will only learn so much from reading manuals, but being right in front of a working laptop with a more-experienced teacher is the best way to learn it, I don't think there is any better way than shadowing / interning / co-oping.

Maybe you can even find a part time maintenance job at a plant / facility. So in your free time at work, you can following the engineer around and learn like this also.

 

[Vlad Romanov]

There's a lot of interesting advice in this thread, so I'll pitch in my take on this:

1. Pick Rockwell or Siemens to learn. Purchase one of their low-end PLCs from eBay & practice on an actual unit.

2. Focus your time on understanding the basics. 90% of the time, you will be stuck troubleshooting XICs, XIOs, OTEs. Focus on those instead of trying to learn everything at once (motion, PIDs, shift registers, etc.)

3. Once comfortable, find a part-time position where you can see an actual production environment. Having a link between a PLC and what's happening on a production floor is extremely critical.

4. While on the job, build your skillsets, learn about other brands, dive into HMI systems, MES/OEE/SCADA, Ignition, etc.

I hope that helps...
Vlad

 

[JaxGTO]

Just remember if you don't want any 2am calls because a machine is down and Bubba cant figure out your code, KISS is your best approach.

 

[cardosocea]

1. Pick Rockwell or Siemens to learn. Purchase one of their low-end PLCs from eBay & practice on an actual unit.

Great advice all around, but number 1 has quite a few caveats that one needs to be aware of. On Rockwell, the cheapest kit is the micro800 series which uses CCW and not the RSLogix.

As far as I know, I think only the Micrologix 1100 has free software.

On the Siemens front, the Logo is the lowest end but it's quite simply a smart relay... used S7-300's will be pointless on TIA Portal and the the S7-1200's aren't quite available used yet.